Many years back, after one of the AIDS Lifecycle charity rides, Kim and I took the Coast Starlight up from LA. On the train we met our friends Steve and Lisa. Since then the 4 of us have done at least two more ALC rides from SF to LA as well as DC to Pittsburgh just for fun.
This trip is Eugene to Portland. We were supposed to take the Coast Starlight from Sacramento to Eugene and ride to Portland where we would catch the train back to Sacramento. Amtrak had other plans for us. Our 11:55 pm departure was pushed to 2 then 4 then 5. We made our way to the station for a 5:30 departure only to find out that it was still in Oakland, and due to the 6.1 Napa earthquake, wouldn't be moving for a while. Bridges and track needed inspecting after the quake. By 9 am we'd had enough of the station(4.5hours waiting on less than 3hours sleep that night) and found an SUV to rent that we could all fit in. With the bike rack we could carry the bikes too. So almost exactly 12 hours after our originally planned departure we got underway. After a dinner break at a lovely old train station in Medford(see pic) called Porter's, we made Eugene by 10:20pm. We were so grateful for the lovely B&B shower and bed by then. Our host at the C'est la Vie Inn was great and it was a shame we didn't have more time to enjoy the gorgeous place.
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